Air Crash Investigation – Season 1 – Episode 1:Unlocking Disaster (United Airlines Flight 811)

United Airlines Flight 811 experienced a cargo door failure in flight on Friday, February 24, 1989, after its stopover at Honolulu International Airport, Hawaii. The resulting decompression blew out several rows of seats, killing 9 passengers.
The aircraft involved was a Boeing 747-122 (c/n 19875/89, reg N4713U), delivered to United Airlines on October 20, 1970.
Flight 811 took off from Honolulu International Airport bound for Auckland, New Zealand with 3 flight crew, 15 flight attendants, and 337 passengers at approximately 01:52 local time.[1] Its flight crew consisted of Captain David Cronin, First Officer Al Slater and Flight Engineer Randal Thomas.
During the climb, the crew made preparations to detour around thunderstorms along the aircraft’s track; anticipating turbulence, the captain kept the seat-belt sign lit. Around this time (02:08) the plane had been flying for approximately 16 minutes and was passing between 22,000 and 23,000 feet (6,700–7,000 m). In the business-class section, a grinding noise was heard, followed by a loud thud which rattled the whole aircraft — 1½ seconds later the forward cargo-door blew out abruptly. The pressure differential caved in the floor above the door, causing two rows of seats (8G-12G and 8H-12H) and an individual in 9F to be ejected from the cabin, resulting in nine fatalities and leaving a gaping hole in the aircraft. The fatalities were: Anthony and Barbara Fallon, Harry and Susan Craig, Lee Campbell, Dr. J Michael Crawford, John Swan, Rose Harley and Mary Handley-Desso.[2] Mae Sapolu, a flight-attendant in the Business-Class cabin, was almost pulled out of the plane, but was seen by passengers and fellow crew clinging to a seat leg; they were able to pull her to safety inside the cabin, although she was severely injured. The pilots began an emergency descent to get the aircraft rapidly down to breathable air, while performing a 180-degree left turn to take them back to Honolulu. The decompression had damaged components of the on-board emergency oxygen supply system, which is primarily located in the forward cargo sidewall area, just aft of the cargo door.[3]
The debris ejected from the plane during the explosive decompression caused severe damage to the number 3 and 4 engines, causing visible fires in both. The crew did not get fire warnings from either of them, although engine 3 was experiencing heavy vibration, no N1 reading, and low EGT and EPR, leading the crew to deactivate it. At 02:10, an emergency was declared, and the crew began dumping fuel to get the plane’s weight down to an acceptable landing weight. Initially, they pushed the number 4 engine slightly to help force the plane down faster, but once they noticed it was giving almost no N1, high EGT, and was emitting flames, they shut it down also. Some of the explosively ejected debris damaged the right wing’s LEDs (Leading Edge Devices), dented the horizontal stabilizer on that side, and even struck the tailfin. NTSB reports found human remains in the fan blades of Number 3 engine, bringing a cold comfort that some of the victims died almost instantly as they were pulled out of the plane.[2]